High school girls engage in riskier behaviour than boys: survey

Fewer high school students are consuming alcohol, sugary drinks and junk food, but not all of their habits are improving. They are also more likely to be inactive, try to change their weight, and not to eat breakfast before going to school.

These are some of the findings raised in the 2022-2023 Quebec Survey on the Health of Secondary School Youth conducted by the Quebec’s Institute of Statistics (ISQ). It surveyed 70,825 young people from 483 public and private secondary schools, French and English, spread across Quebec.

The results published Monday indicate that the proportion of students having consumed alcohol in the 12 months preceding the survey increased from 60 per cent in 2010-2011 to 47 per cent in 2022-2023. The rate of students who consumed excessively also tends to decrease. For the same periods compared, this proportion fell by 12 percentage points.

“One of the things that stood out is that we see for the 2022-2023 data that girls are more likely to have behaviour, let’s say, at risk. They are more likely than boys to consume alcohol or to consume excessively, and more numerous than boys to consume cannabis. This is the first time that we have seen this difference between the two genders,” said Florence Conus, research professional and spokesperson for the ISQ, in an interview.

Overall, the proportion of young people who have used cannabis has decreased, from 25 per cent in 2010-2011 to 16 per cent for the 2022-2023 survey. For these same periods, the proportion of students who smoked cigarettes fell from 11 per cent to 2.3 per cent.

Students are now turning more to vaping. The data shows that the proportion of young people who used electronic cigarettes in the 30 days preceding the survey increased from 11 per cent in 2016-2017 to 16per cent in 2022-2023 (data for this indicator are non-existent for 2010- 2011).

Less junk food and fruits and vegetables

The ISQ survey also reveals that the proportion of high school students who consumed sugary drinks daily has decreased. Six years ago, almost one in four students consumed at least one per day, whereas today it is closer to one in five.

Young people seem to be drinking more water than before. Between 2016-2017 and the most recent data, the proportion of students who drank at least four glasses of water per day increased by four percentage points to reach 46  per cent.

However, high school students report eating fewer fruits and vegetables. A quarter of young people surveyed said they consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis compared to 31 per cent in 2010-2011.

They also seem to eat less in snack bars while 37 per cent said they eat junk food from a restaurant at least once a week for a school lunch. This rate was 46 per cent in 2010-2011.

More adolescents are going to school hungry. Nearly 26 per cent of them did not consume food or drinks in the morning before their classes during the school week preceding the survey, a proportion which has more than doubled in 12 years. This proportion is also higher among girls (32 per cent) than among boys (21per cent).

As well, 65 per cent of high school students take actions to change or maintain their weight; 24 per cent are trying to lose weight; 15 per cent try to gain; 25 per cent want to maintain or control it.

Proportionately more girls than boys are trying to lose weight or control it. The opposite is observed in boys who try more to gain weight.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews